keh ltm bargains

[msbarnes]

How is your keh Leica LTM bargain lens experience?

I love keh but most of the LTM bargain lenses that I have purchase were not that good....fungus, haze, and/or element separation. It usually isn't THAT bad but I just expect more from a bargain.

I'm not complaining because I am overall happy with most of my purchases but I'm just wondering if I am less lucky.

 

[Bingley]

i bought a bgn grade Canon 35/1.8 a couple of years ago that had and has excellent glass. But most of my lens purchases recently have been from Classifieds here.

 

[Dez]

From my limited experience with KEH, there is a wide range of quality of the items sold, but they are accurately described, and the price reflects the condition.

Cheers,
Dez

 

[Rdtaylor_sea]

In my experience KEH is conservative in its ratings.

About a year ago I purchased a collapsible ltm Summicron with rare earth (radioactive) glass from them. It was described as EX condition but with UG glass. Turns out the glass had yellowed due to the radioactive elements, but otherwise it was in pristine shape. I put it under a UV lamp for a couple of weeks which cleared it right up. A lot of EBay sellers would describe it as "mint."

My point in this is that its worth taking a shot with KEH. Sometimes you hit the jackpot and if its not worth keeping you can send it back for a full refund.

 

[Mr_Flibble]

No questions asked return policy.

I've bought plenty of 'ugly' stuff from KEH, including an 90mm Elmar, 135 Hektor that both had excellent glass but weathered housings.

I've bought an 'inop' Leica I from them....I still haven't figured out what exactly is supposed to be inoperative about it because it works fine.

I've bought an 'ugly' 50/1.5 Xenon from them that did require some adjustment and tightening, but for the price I wasn't complaining.

Buy with confidence 🙂

 

[Tono10]

And how about customs, Didn't you have any trouble with them? I've never considered buying outside the EU for this reason...

 

[Mr_Flibble]

Here in the Netherlands my packages from overseas are always checked. I don't mind paying the import duty, it's the law. But I do mind paying the exorbitant administrative fees the postal services are charging these days, which is pure theft in my opinion. (Dutch postal services have really gone down hill these last two years)

Bitter? Moi? Really?

 

[S.H.]

Dutch postal services have really gone down hill these last two years

Perhaps a general trend. In France this is the case too.

 

[bigeye]

I've bought 2 bodies and 7 lenses from KEH over 3 years; mostly BGN with a couple of EX. They consistently undersell their product.

Glass and function have always been perfect with all. I returned one, a BGN 105/2.5 nikkor that was truly perfect except for a small cosmetic ding on the retractable lens hood that I could not live with. The replacement is perfect.

In my experience, BGN gets you perfect glass and function, detectable cosmetic wear and signs of use.

EX and above incrementally reduce the "cosmetic and signs of use" part, I believe concentrating more on life expectancy. I've had some EXs that don't look much better than BGN, but clearly have not been used much at all.

So, they have a cosmetic bias to their pricing, which is good for my needs.

- Charlie

 

[traveler_101]

Here in the Netherlands my packages from overseas are always checked. I don't mind paying the import duty, it's the law. But I do mind paying the exorbitant administrative fees the postal services are charging these days, which is pure theft in my opinion. (Dutch postal services have really gone down hill these last two years)

Bitter? Moi? Really?

Ah, the Netherlands was once the greatest trading nation in the world and introduced the principle of free trade. Ok, times have changed the EU calls the shots now, etc., but I suspect there is still some tolerance for the free movement of goods in the Dutch DNA. If you want restrictive combined with exorbitant postal fees try where I live: Norway. I travel to the USA frequently and buy while I am over there.

 

[msbarnes]

just for clarification I'm talking about the Leica LTM lenses specifically.

My M lenses, SLR lenses, and most other lenses/cameras have been fine.

My sample pool isn't very large so I could have just been unlucky...these lenses are more difficult to find clean so I'm not necessarily complaining but suspected that perhaps they set the bar lower for older cameras/lenses or something...

 

[Mr_Flibble]

Sounds like bad luck. With exception of the Xenon, none of the LTM lenses I bought from KEH had trouble with the glass itself.